I couldn’t put this one down. It’s too bad this book wasn’t based on an actual true story but it is written in that way. The author did a ton of research to make sure the main character’s life as a geisha was portrayed accurately. The story follows a young girl from a poor fishing village as she is sold and taken from her home to train as a geisha. The beginning of her tutelage is rough as she makes an enemy of a notorious geisha but her luck turns when another prominent geisha becomes her mentor. As the main character gains skills and earns suitors WWII begins and throws her entire life for a loop once more. I can’t say enough about this book, I loved it.
Definitely not my favorite book by this author but the story does help the reader understand the War of Roses a little better. A map and family tree is included which I always love but I think a little more background into each family would have helped me understand the clash between the Lancasters and Yorks more. This book focuses on the woman who married the York king. After marrying, her life is one of constant war and worry for her offspring. The Queen’s powers to place curses and see into the future play significant parts in the story.
Short stories are not my jam, especially when I feel there is no conclusion. It also makes me super uncomfortable reading books that have racial and homosexual slurs used in them. This story is about a man who becomes infatuated with his downstairs neighbor. She has parties with men and gets tipped to use the restroom, is she an escort? A prostitute? A gold digger? Who knows, but she definitely seems mentally unstable. A few random storylines get thrown in that make the story even more confusing and weird. The three other short stories lumped in the book were not for me either.
At first, I thought this book was just a copy of Big Little Lies but if you hold on for a little while, it’s not. A group of four mom friends in an upscale neighborhood is asked by one of them to help cover up a crime. Throughout the process, new details emerge that cause panic and mistrust among the close-knit group. The reader gets the gist of what really happens around the middle of the story but I think it was still interesting enough to finish reading.
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